Antreyki

The Antreyki are anthropomorphic beings in the webcomic Triquetra Cats (website, mirror). They have been mentioned throughout the comic but first appear in the 9th story, where one is mistaken for a werewolf.

As the government agency SERVICE sends their top magic using agents (Project Elemental Cat) to Tokyo to deal with the presumed werewolf, they receive assistance from Liger Nekishou, an Antreyki military agent who informs them that the 'werewolf' is in reality an Antreyki seral killer; later on, one of the members of Project Elemental Cat, Rain Soricha explains that as a child she was raised in a house that had an illegal Antreyki servant, and that servant taught her the Antreyki language and the Antreyki martial art, Tek Kel Rla.

Characters

So far only three Antreyki characters have been seen:

Liger Nekishou Liger is a lieutenant in the Antreyki military. She is a white tiger/lion crossbreed (hence her name Liger), characterized with white fur with black stripes, black hair with white stripes, and blue slitted eyes; she is usually seen wearing her military uniform. Most humans she deals with mispronounce her last names as Nekishoujo thinking it is a corruption of the japanese words neko (cat) and shoujo (girl), but her last name is actually a combination of the Antreyki words Neqki (to strike) and Hol (life) and is thus pronounced closer to neqkishol (meaning striking life).

Talbe Uikami Ani-yoni Talbe's form is that of a large timberwolf. He is an Antreyki citizen convicted of 32 murders in the australian Antreyki controlled regions, sentenced to life in the penal colony in Perth; he soon escaped, and after purchasing black market nanotech transformed himself into a human form. He then fled to Tokyo under the name Ookami Hanone (a name that whether he knew it or not belied his true form). Taking up his old habits he began to "play werewolf": seducing female victims, taking them to secluded spots, using the nanotech to transform himself back into a wolf Antreyki, and killing them. This attracted the attention of SERVICE who sent Project Elemental Cat to deal with the werewolf. When Project Elemental Cat was confronted by Liger Nekishou, Blue Cat (speaking in the Antrey language) volunteered their services and began fighting Talbe using Tek Kel Rla, which impressed the lieutenant.

Li Garudo Master Li is a komodo dragon form Antreyki. He was a master of Tek Kel Rla, training many top students, including Liger Nekishou. It is unknown why he left the Antreyki territories and came to Nihomeca in his later years, but he was taken in by the Jorgensens, who kept him as a house servant. It was there that he met a young child named Michael Jorgensen, to whom he took a liking. Li took Michael under his wing and taught him Tek Kel Rla and how to speak Antreyki (Michael is arguably the first and only human to learn these skills). On Michael's 12th birthday the INS discovered Li's presence and forcibly removed him from the country; no one knows to this day what happened to him. Michael, on the other hand, was transformed into Rain Soricha and recruited as a magic user.

Politics

The Antreyki are a very militaristic nation; all schools are funded and run by the military, and after the age of 14 all Antreyki students are required by law to enroll in the military academy for 5 years. It is after graduation that they are given the choice to stay with the military or return to civilian life - those who choose civilian life are not looked down upon, having done their service. Most civilians live an agrarian life in small villages, while large Antrey cities are reserved for military personnel.

Antreyki have colonies on four planets: Earth, Mars, Venus and Titan (the Venus and Titan colonies are exclusively military bases); and dozens of orbital and deep space stations. Antreyki on Earth have recolonized much of Africa, Australia, and South America, where Antrey hunters keep control of the wild splio population.

The official stance of the United Consortium of Nations and Planets has been, and will evermore continue to be, that the beings known as the Antreyki never were officially relieved of their citizenship in their countries of origin; nor did they have any right to usurp the properly-selected government of Australia, at the time when the Antreyki race began to establish control of that nation and continent. Consequently, the ‘Antreyki’ are not and cannot be a true nation. Were there any Antreyki currently living, indeed, who had been involved in the Antreyki cleansing of Western Australia of all humans, they would be subject to immediate sanction with extreme prejudice; all Antreyki then living, to the smallest infant, were tried in absentia in accordance with the then-procedures of the then-International Criminal Court at The Hague and the United then-Nations, and were sentenced to death. While, as per all international precedent, their descendants cannot be held responsible for their crimes, nor should they be permitted de jure rule over a territory they never had any right to hold. The UNCP does now, and will continue to, urge all anthropomorphic beings on Earth to determine their legal citizenship, to return to the nation in which they may legally reside, and to re-join the community of humanity (since the international outlawing of genetic splicing, Antreyki are refused to be recognized as human, making that option inaccessible as well).

Modern Antreyki pose no threat and no desire to be a threat to humans so SERVICE has classified them as low priority.

Language

Since being outcast from human society, the Antrey have developed their own culture and language. The Antrey language has various dialects depending upon the breed of Antreyki speaking it (wolf forms for example speak Antreyki in a harsh, almost guttural dialect; cat forms speak it drawn out, with higher tones in the inflections). Because of the radically different anatomical structures of an Antreki's throat and mouth, a lot of Antrey words are composed of sounds that are difficult, if not impossible, for a human to pronounce. Humans attempting to speak Antreyki stumble through the language. The Antreyki written alphabet somewhat resembles Japanese kanji; it is read vertically right to left, bottom to top.

Technology

Antreyki technology is roughly 20 years ahead of that of humans, and is not restricted to international law as human technology is (for example, giant mech are outlawed by the UNCP, however are used frequently by Antreyki military). The most prevalent technology used by the Antrey are synthais, wearable computers with a holographic display and limited artificial intelligence.

Tek Kel Rla

Antreyki warriors have in time developed their own form of martial arts called Tek Kel Rla. It exploits the natural features of an anthropomorph: Tek Kel Rla fighters employ not just punching kicking and grappling, but claw slashes, bites, and tail whipping. This makes it a very difficult art for a human to master.